The other Lakers son trying to rise: Joey Buss

The last time there was an NBA lockout, more than a few idle November days were filled by the epic piece Sports Illustrated's Franz Lidz wrote about the Buss family.

The portrayal? Jerry Buss' children as a Shakespearean tragedy waiting to happen.

Thirteen years later, Buss the patriarch is still standing in charge – and the Lakers are even more the omnipotent diety of the NBA than they were then. This new lockout, actually, was largely erected by Buss' fellow owners to beef up security against the Lakers continuing to dig up more than their fair share of gold.

But you need not be a literature student to know that tragedies do not befall empires as a result of severe luxury-tax penalties or tough salary-cap limitations. Greed, pride, envy, entitlement ... and the people who make all those mistakes will bring a house down.

Buss, two months away from turning 78, remains determined to hand the team down to his children, although the first audible to his original play call has been made. Jeanie and Jim are indeed following their Jerry-ordained paths in charge of the Lakers' business and basketball operations, respectively, but first-born Johnny has dropped out of the picture that his big, unstable personality so dominated in that 1998 family portrait.

Joey was 14 back then, and his name appeared once and only once among the 5,935 words used in Lidz's article.

Now 27, Joey is very much in the picture – and he might well have the common sense and the sturdy relationships with Jeanie and Jim to change the story.

Joey sits next to Jerry and Jim at every Lakers home game, pitching in a little on the big job. But Joey has his own big, little job for now: CEO and president of NBA Development League's D-Fenders, the Lakers' hardly-known minor-league affiliate that Joey is driven to establish into what he describes, rather appropriately, as "the Lakers' little brother."

"I want to work my way up; I don't want to just be placed in a role for the Lakers," Joey said. "I feel like I can do more for the D-Fenders, offer more – and learn more that way for myself. After that happens, then I can implement things for the Lakers. Youth is on my side. I just want to make the best of the opportunities I have."

He has been low-key about his opportunities after getting his degree from USC in business administration, which is why you don't know Joey from the entire season he spent shadowing Phil Jackson, home and road, and sitting in on every coaches' meeting.

Or from his past five years attending the league's board of governors meetings in both spring and fall, entering stride for stride with Jerry and Jeanie to convene with all other NBA owners. Or from him sitting in with Jerry, Jim and Mitch Kupchak last summer as the free-agent names Steve Blake and Matt Barnes were kicked around. Or from him huddling with Jim on draft night in June, studying Synergy Sports Technology scouting video before the Lakers' picks were made.

"The long term is my dad wants to transfer the shares out to his children," Joey said. "It'll become a process in which all of us will have ownership of the team. I just think there'll be a natural progression, and I should be ready when that happens and not try to push anything earlier than that. Using this as an opportunity to grow is great for me.

"My dad will bounce things off of me. Business and basketball. I get somebody's ear basically all the time, so there's always influence that way. At the end of the day, the top-level Lakers decisions are not mine to make, but I definitely do have a voice."

What you might know Joey a little bit from is the one time he had a voice – and it cracked.

Joey and little brother Jesse – who have a different mother than Jerry's older children Johnny, Jim, Jeanie and Janie – were in Orlando with the Lakers in the 2009 NBA Finals. Jerry had assured Joey that he would join him there if the Lakers got in position to win the series.

But when Joey called to ask what flight Jerry would be coming on for what would be the Game 5 clincher, Jerry said he'd decided to stay home – and would be keeping Jim and Jeanie with him. "Who's going to do the trophy?" Joey asked.

He was casually informed by his father: "You're going to do the trophy."

So that's how Joey came to offer that postgame acceptance speech he admits he "got heat for" publicly. The moment was, however, in keeping with what Joey calls his father's "sink or swim" approach with his children, and when Joey jokingly asked Jerry for a week's notice next time, the son found out just how much the father savored the opportunity to share the victory with the leader of his second set of children.

"He said, 'Oh, no, you did fine; you did great,' " Joey said. "He was really happy with it. It was kind of a proud moment for him. I don't know if you want to call it ascension or something like that, but the last 30 years of his life have been dedicated to this franchise, and for him, from a legacy standpoint, to see that was a very proud moment for him."

Many Lakers fans wondered what right this fresh-faced Joey Buss had to take the Lakers' first post-Shaq championship trophy out of David Stern's hands – and then look more nervous than victorious. It was yet another moment to hark back to "King Lear" from 1998 ...

Mend your speech a little, lest you may mar your fortunes.

With no life but this one spawned by a famous father, Joey will let the naysayers' familiar voices take over when the topic is broached: "You're set for life! You don't have to do any work!" he shouted with a half-grin.

"For me, the prejudgments come before anything," he said. "They just judge a book by its cover. Those preconceptions are a motivating factor for me, because I want to prove 'em wrong."

Joey is fully aware, though, that his heat is a nightlight compared to the fire brother Jim is feeling – and the Lakers' latest golden era isn't even over yet.

"He's definitely a target right now. I know he's really, really trying hard to be self-aware and really kind of put himself in a position where people can't criticize everything about him. Some people take it personally and criticize the way he dresses or his shoes."

If Johnny – whose latest birthday party at the Nevada "Bunny Ranch" brothel can be relived online, if you're interested – were the one still in the Lakers' picture, you might hear even more criticism of Jim. Instead, Johnny has his figurehead title (Lakers executive vice president of strategic development) and Joey has his feet on the ground at the same age Johnny was when he spiraled into depression over his failures with his minor-league job running the family's indoor soccer team.

In his defense of Jim, Joey blends logic and loyalty, saying: "It's kind of ironic if people think my dad makes all the right decisions: If that's the case, then it's his decision to put Jim in charge, right?

"My dad's very passionate about this, and he's very much involved still. And when people look at Jim, they should really see him as a guy who for basketball purposes my dad has put trust in. That has some merit to it, just as it does with Jeanie and business."

Certain players wind up being the glue to championship teams, and you can already see how that could be Joey Buss' role.

Then again, perhaps it will be much more.

If you don't have a tragic flaw, can you be the tragic hero?

For the time being, Joey lives his relatively normal life – disinterested in the Hollywood club scene and entering his 10th year with and fourth year married to the only other "Dr. Buss" now that his college sweetheart Nicole has earned her Ph.D. in pediatric occupational therapy.

He has hatched unique plans for D-Fenders games to be played at the Lakers' practice facility – with Laker Girls delivering food to fans and the chance to buy Lakers tickets before they go on sale to the public. He has landed legit NBA talent in head coach Eric Musselman and No. 1 draft pick Jamaal Tinsley for the D-Fenders, whom he promises are going to be a true "feed system" for the Lakers.

Similarly on the way up is Joey Buss, refreshingly aware how pursuit of a D-League championship is "critical for my development in the future" yet deeply aware that NBA championships with the Lakers are how he and all his siblings will ultimately be judged.